


Dove Grey

by MsEllieJane



Category: Star Trek: Discovery, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Angst and Feels, F/M, Military Uniforms, not quite smut, the constant risk of death and no dental plan, the first order are terrible employers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-24 03:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15621555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsEllieJane/pseuds/MsEllieJane
Summary: “I suppose you would have turned up sooner or later, you always do.” She glanced at him sideways as he fell into place beside her in the row of grouchy Captains and other assorted First Order leadership. Even after so many years, the man looked mouth-watering in uniform.In which I start with the idea of "what if some of the First Order officers weren't fanatics, but just down on their luck former Imperials who needed jobs" and somehow wind up with a dark commentary on our damaged gig-based economy, but with romance.





	Dove Grey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pixie (magnetgirl)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetgirl/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Pixie (magnetgirl)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetgirl/pseuds/Pixie) in the [july2018](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/july2018) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
> 
>    
>  
> 
> I'm looking for a Star Wars AU in which Katrina and Gabriel are Imperials. 
> 
> Fic, art, meta, whatever medium you want to work in works for me. If art, please keep is safe for work, but if fic, in this case you can break my smut rule and I'm okay with some violence (e.g. Force choke). But neither is necessary. And they don't have to be a couple, they can be rivals, and maybe even one or the other is sympathetic to the Rebellion, but they have to start out as villains. And be stylish.

Dr. Cornwell rubbed her hands together and stamped her feet in the slushy snow, wondering why she and seemingly every member of the First Order brass had been called to this god-forsaken rock. The sea of grey-clad officers moved slowly into their places, the air humming with idle chit-chat. The question of where they were and why they had been summoned hung over the crowd like a looming storm. 

Katrina was not happy about being called away from her medical ship for what appeared to be lot of nothing. The _ Nightingale  _ had been damaged in the crossfire of a recent skirmish between First Order and Resistance ships, and was undergoing repairs at a nearby starbase. She knew she was being over-protective and probably paranoid, but in this violent world that was her home, paranoia was necessary and life-saving at times. She couldn’t stop the feeling of dread that had taken up residence in her chest, clawing at her like a living thing. 

Looking ruefully at the swirls of snowflakes surrounding her, she wished she had worn a coat, but the instructions had said standard uniform only and she wasn’t one to break orders over temperature. She’d witnessed people being flayed alive for lesser infractions and didn’t want to be reminded of the consequences. At least the rest of the officers looked equally uncomfortable, their exhaled breath a mingled cloud of smoke.

“Fancy meeting you here, Captain.” The voice had a smile to it and she recognized it before turning around. The sight of his face was the first good thing to happen to her all week and she couldn’t stop her own smile from spilling across her face. She tried to school her features back into the stern expression required of her but found she couldn’t.

“I suppose you would have turned up sooner or later, you always do.” She glanced at him sideways as he fell into place beside her in the row of grouchy Captains and other assorted First Order leadership. Even after so many years, Gabriel looked mouth-watering in uniform. The dove grey wool fit him like a glove and salacious thoughts crept to the forefront of her mind. She sensed him glancing back at her, his eyes moving over her approvingly. She silently made plans to spend some time with him after this pointless spectacle was over. She could never keep track of his assignments, most of which were classified way above her pay grade, so she intended to make the most of this chance meeting.

Her salacious thoughts were interrupted by the amplified voice of Admiral Hux, and it took all of her discipline to avoid rolling her eyes. She saw him standing on the dais in front of her, surrounded by an honor guard with all the trappings of a grand ceremony. Behind him stood the First Order’s senior leadership and she recognized a few of them as her former classmates at the Imperial Academy. These were the ones who went all in with the First Order ideology and mission, while to her it was just a job and an unpleasant one at that. She didn’t find herself envying their elevated ranks but did envy the warm cloaks they wore. Even the endless squads of Stormtroopers behind her had insulated armor. 

Her irritation grew into concern as Brendol Hux’s bastard son-turned leader continued with his speech, his voice growing erratic as he spoke of ending the New Republic for their support of the Rebellion. His words struck her as she slowly realized the reason for her presence, for everyone’s presence, on this desolate planet. As he screamed out his final words, everyone around her saluted as one. It took Katrina a few seconds to realize her arm had reflexively moved into a salute, just like everyone else. She used the moment of distraction to glance over at Gabriel and she saw her anxiety reflected in his eyes. 

“Fire!”

The command was screamed out over the crowd and they turned around as one. In an instant, the forest beyond the rows of Troopers exploded into a massive ball of fire, disintegrating surrounding trees into nothing. Katrina squeezed her eyes shut against the brightness, the heat from the plasma washing over her. It quickly chased away the bitter cold, but she took little comfort in it.

Katrina was there when the second Death Star was destroyed and barely escaped with her life. She’d been a junior medic fresh out of the Imperial Academy, still a gangly teenager with grand plans. The trauma of witnessing the half-finished space station explode through the window of her departing medical shuttle had stayed with her for years, but she never dared tell a soul. Those feelings of terror and helplessness came back to her now. She wanted to flee this cursed place and it took all her discipline and training to remain standing. 

She was shaken from her memories by the light touch of a hand. She glanced at Gabriel and saw the concern in his eyes. She forced herself to take a deep breath before nodding back at him. She let her fingers wrap around his, knowing that everyone else was distracted by the destruction taking place in front of them. She kept her eyes shut and tried to focus on Gabriel’s touch, seeing it in her mind’s eye as a lifeline. 

The blasting heat eventually ebbed, and she could once again sense the movement and sound around her. She opened her eyes at the light tug on her hand.

“Let’s get out of here, Kat. I don’t want to stick around for the after party.”

She nodded her head and followed him, still in a daze. He led them to the nearest transport shuttle and found them a place to sit away from the windows. As the shuttle took off with a rumbling sigh, Gabriel put himself between her and the shrinking view of Starkiller base. She thanked him for this small kindness with the barest hint of a smile and a light squeeze of his hand. They sat in silence for most of the trip back to the starbase, but when he could read the unbidden memories that spread across her features, he spoke to her softly. 

“You will not believe the things I’ve seen since I last had the pleasure of your company. Of course, you know I can’t tell you anything or I would have to kill you, which would be a shame.” 

Her smile deepened slightly at the familiar exchange. She knew his work mostly involved dull surveillance assignments and not the sort of derring-do adventures he hinted at, but she always remembered to look impressed. They both had the type of thankless jobs highly-skilled former Imperial officers were forced to take when career options dried up and the only the First Order was hiring, so it never hurt to pretend what he did was still glamorous.

He continued speaking softly to her, weaving an unbelievable story involving plasma storms and hand-to-hand combat with pirates. She nodded at the right times but tuned out slightly to let the sound of his voice wash over her. By the time the shuttle docked at the starbase, she felt a little less shell-shocked and steadier on her feet. Gabriel muttered something about not having his next assignment yet and needing a place to crash. She knew he was paid by the job and gave him a look of concern which he shrugged off. She sighed, gesturing with a nod, and he followed her to where the  _ Nightingale  _ was docked.

They boarded the newly patched up ship in silence and he hung back as she instructed the crew to set a course for a distant sector of space. They had no assignment and there was nowhere they had to be, but she wanted to get as far from Starkiller as possible. It was a small ship with a crew of eight, and while the first officer raised her eyebrows slightly at the sight of Gabriel, the rest ignored him as they prepared the hyperdrive. 

Once the ship was in hyperspace with a destination at least day away, she retreated to the tiny room that served as her quarters and he followed. When she looked back, she saw two medics exchange a look and then shrug. She was grateful for their lack of judgement and made a mental note to pick up some booze and fresh fruit for them at their next stop, if either of those things were even available.

After making sure the door behind them was shut and locked, she backed him against the wall and he responded with the same eagerness she remembered from years ago. The spark between them she had first felt when they were naive young cadets with big dreams hadn’t faded. If anything, their passion had grown even more intense, heightened by the realization that it was the only joyful thing left in either of their lives. The grey uniforms were quickly shed, and they tumbled onto her small bed, scattering a small pile of throw pillows. She felt his smirk against her skin.

“Don’t mock my pillows, Gabriel. This room is a cold, sterile box and I needed something soft to remind me that I’m more than this job and this uniform.”

“I wasn’t laughing! The pillows just reminded me of everything I love about you. That warmth you have to hide to survive. I know it and have seen it, and I see you. The real you.” His words sent a wave of emotion through her that nearly left her in tears. 

“Thank you,” she managed to choke out before he interrupted with a kiss that melted her completely.

There was no elegance to their hurried lovemaking, but neither of them cared. After seeing the destruction wrought by Starkiller, they both needed a distraction, something to purge that darkness from their minds. She was thankful her quarters had thick walls that muffled the ragged, desperate sounds she made.

Once sated, they curled up against each other but didn’t speak, the silence hanging comfortably between them. After some time had passed, she pulled the blankets up and over them both and nestled herself in his warmth. The exhaustion of the day finally claimed her, and she let herself drift off to the sound of his rhythmic breathing.

She was jostled awake by a loud alarm sounding from her coms unit.  She realized a moment later that Gabriel’s coms unit was making the same noise and she could hear the muffled sound of alarms on the bridge. She grabbed the device and quickly blinked the sleep from her eyes. As she read the alert message, she realized he was somehow still asleep, so she shook him awake.

“Gabriel, wake up, this is important.” He looked blearily at the message and she could see the realization wash over his face. 

“It’s destroyed? the entire thing?” She nodded back at him.

“The resistance, they did it. I don’t know how, but they did it.”

Neither of them spoke as they realized what this could mean for their future. The possibility of galaxy free of the First Order, and a chance to fight for something other than a steady paycheck. 

“One thing I will miss is how that uniform looked on you, Kat.” Laughter bubbled up in her chest and she felt something inside her that had broken long ago become whole again. She smiled and squeezed his hand.

“Likewise.”

  
  



End file.
